V-brakes don’t look cool. They are ugly as sin, especially compared to a nice set of cantis. I daresay that every advance in braking technology for bikes has generally resulted in uglier brakes. Dual-pivot side pulls? Great, but ugly. V-brakes? ok, but ugly. Discs? Don’t get me started.
Apparently I’m more than my usual clueless this morning. The hint does very little for me, even with my smattering of NT Greek. ”Can I buy a vowel, Alex?”
καλλιστι = kallisti, generally translated as “for the fairest/most beautiful”. The masculine equivalent would be “kallistos”.
In Greek mythology, this was the inscription that was on the golden apple that Eris (the Greek goddess of chaos and discord) tossed into the middle of the festivities during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Upon seeing the inscription but no other indication as for whom the gift was intended, the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera each insisted that the apple was intended for herself. This set off a vanity-fueled dispute that, according to legend, led to the Trojan War. Refer also to the mythology of the Judgement of Paris.
The tattoo on Yehuda’s ankle, therefore, is supposed to be a representation of the apple (see the little stem-like bit at the top?) with the letter ‘K’ standing for the word ‘kallisti’. Maybe this is Idle’s way of branding him as hers?
Aha!! The “Scuffy Skillman” method of velocity modulation!! ….and if anybody remembers seeing the original Scuffy Skillman reference (circa 1972), you’ve been working on bikes for a long, l-o-n-g time.
Congratulations, Widsith — you win a cookie.
Incidentally, this was one of the first bike repair “how-to-do-it” books I bought when I got into cycling almost forty years ago.
Me, too. I remember riding my bike to Military Circle Mall in Norfolk, Virginia to buy a copy in 1973. It was a memorable experience because when I came back outside, my (locked) bike was safe but someone had cut the straps on my seat bag and stolen the bag and my toolkit. They took my frame pump and water bottle, too.
I still have a hardbound copy that I use as a reference. It was sitting by my keyboard this morning because I flipped through it recently before overhauling my front hub. That book and “How to Choose and Use a Bicyle Without Doing Something Dumb” by Peter Braddock have been my main bicycle reference sources since the early ’70s.
I had my little ABB book in my bikebag throughout college – it was a great help at times, and somehow gave me a comforting feeling that someone out there knew how it felt when you had a problem, and no LBS or other aid in sight…
I picked up a used 12″ kids bike this weekend, John Deere to be specific. However, it needs a new pedal and tires. Since several of you also do charity work I’m sure you see a fair amount of kids bikes. Any good places I should look for the tire and do regular pedals I can get on Amazon fit it?
You may want to look for kid-specific pedals at a bike shop, or maybe a big-box store (Kmart/MallWart/Costco/etc) that sells cheap kid’s bikes to start with. Ordinary pedals, made for larger feet, could end up looking oversize and out of place on a bike that small.
Ditto for the 12-inch tires. Check older, established bike shops like (at least here in the US) a been-in-business-for-a-while Schwinn dealer as they are more likely to have dealt with this sort of stuff before, and if they don’t have this sort of thing in stock would be more likely to have a source for it.
You might find a generous scrap merchant?
Alternatively, some charity shops do sell spares, as it is another way of making some money.
Those that are only interested in promoting cycling may refuse as all spares are valuable when rebuilding bikes to a working state. The one I used to attend had such a rule
I was riding with a group and the person in front of me had their chain break a link. I called out ‘Mechanical, stopping’ before he tried to pedal on the broken chain. He was a retired bikeshop mechanic.
I was riding with a group and the person in front of me had their chain break a link. I called out ‘Mechanical, stopping’ before he tried to pedal on the broken chain. He was a retired bikeshop mechanic.
Yesterday, I was riding up onto a bridge and this kid on a BMX was approaching me, dragging his shoe on his front tire. I could smell the burning rubber from his shoe. His friends were coming, so I pulled over and let them go by. Fortunately, their coaster brakes were working. Nice timing on the comic. In the end, it’s nice to have two brakes in case one fails.
You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out,
You put your right foot in,
And you shake it all about,
You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That what it’s all about.
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Proper footwear will keep those toes happy
What’s wrong with drum brakes?
Last forever, good in the wet, etc, etc…
Maybe they aren’t as ‘cool’ looking as V-Brakes but require much less maintenance!
V-brakes don’t look cool. They are ugly as sin, especially compared to a nice set of cantis. I daresay that every advance in braking technology for bikes has generally resulted in uglier brakes. Dual-pivot side pulls? Great, but ugly. V-brakes? ok, but ugly. Discs? Don’t get me started.
here’s a good looking set of drum brakes, and speaking of lasting forever, they’re now over 60 years old…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jromeh/5102635522/in/set-72157625086626655/
(go backwards through the set to see other shots, etc.)
The only problem with them that I have is that they don’t have a lot of stopping power compared to modern brakes.
καλλιστι
I was going to ask about the tattoo on the ankle. Thanks for the clue, jsch.
Apparently I’m more than my usual clueless this morning. The hint does very little for me, even with my smattering of NT Greek. ”Can I buy a vowel, Alex?”
καλλιστι = kallisti, generally translated as “for the fairest/most beautiful”. The masculine equivalent would be “kallistos”.
In Greek mythology, this was the inscription that was on the golden apple that Eris (the Greek goddess of chaos and discord) tossed into the middle of the festivities during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Upon seeing the inscription but no other indication as for whom the gift was intended, the goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera each insisted that the apple was intended for herself. This set off a vanity-fueled dispute that, according to legend, led to the Trojan War. Refer also to the mythology of the Judgement of Paris.
The tattoo on Yehuda’s ankle, therefore, is supposed to be a representation of the apple (see the little stem-like bit at the top?) with the letter ‘K’ standing for the word ‘kallisti’. Maybe this is Idle’s way of branding him as hers?
“Maybe this is Idle’s way of branding him as hers”
Most likely NOT – if I remember it right, Yehuda has had that tattoo(?) long before he met Idle.
My guess would be the symbol of Discordianism.
See “The Illuminatus! Trilogy” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy
Ah, the one *TRUE* mythology! Euxaristw!
Thanks, I didn’t notice the stem, not that I would have recognized the allusion.
Or, it’s this symbol: http://nfccertification.com/nfc-apple-kosher/kosher-certification/
Given that his name is Yehuda, I’d go with this/
Aha!! The “Scuffy Skillman” method of velocity modulation!!
….and if anybody remembers seeing the original Scuffy Skillman reference (circa 1972), you’ve been working on bikes for a long, l-o-n-g time.
It’s from “Anybody’s Bike Book” by Tom Cuthbertson; Scuffy’s “memorial illustration” was drawn by Rick Morrall.
Congratulations, Widsith — you win a cookie.
Incidentally, this was one of the first bike repair “how-to-do-it” books I bought when I got into cycling almost forty years ago.
Me, too. I remember riding my bike to Military Circle Mall in Norfolk, Virginia to buy a copy in 1973. It was a memorable experience because when I came back outside, my (locked) bike was safe but someone had cut the straps on my seat bag and stolen the bag and my toolkit. They took my frame pump and water bottle, too.
I still have a hardbound copy that I use as a reference. It was sitting by my keyboard this morning because I flipped through it recently before overhauling my front hub. That book and “How to Choose and Use a Bicyle Without Doing Something Dumb” by Peter Braddock have been my main bicycle reference sources since the early ’70s.
the method illustration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55942264@N00/7238297716/in/set-72157629822800612
I had my little ABB book in my bikebag throughout college – it was a great help at times, and somehow gave me a comforting feeling that someone out there knew how it felt when you had a problem, and no LBS or other aid in sight…
Gives a new meaning to “breaking-in” new shoes.
I picked up a used 12″ kids bike this weekend, John Deere to be specific. However, it needs a new pedal and tires. Since several of you also do charity work I’m sure you see a fair amount of kids bikes. Any good places I should look for the tire and do regular pedals I can get on Amazon fit it?
You may want to look for kid-specific pedals at a bike shop, or maybe a big-box store (Kmart/MallWart/Costco/etc) that sells cheap kid’s bikes to start with. Ordinary pedals, made for larger feet, could end up looking oversize and out of place on a bike that small.
Ditto for the 12-inch tires. Check older, established bike shops like (at least here in the US) a been-in-business-for-a-while Schwinn dealer as they are more likely to have dealt with this sort of stuff before, and if they don’t have this sort of thing in stock would be more likely to have a source for it.
You might find a generous scrap merchant?
Alternatively, some charity shops do sell spares, as it is another way of making some money.
Those that are only interested in promoting cycling may refuse as all spares are valuable when rebuilding bikes to a working state. The one I used to attend had such a rule
Broken chain? Maybe Yehuda should search out a good wrench to maintain his rides.
I was riding with a group and the person in front of me had their chain break a link. I called out ‘Mechanical, stopping’ before he tried to pedal on the broken chain. He was a retired bikeshop mechanic.
I was riding with a group and the person in front of me had their chain break a link. I called out ‘Mechanical, stopping’ before he tried to pedal on the broken chain. He was a retired bikeshop mechanic.
Yesterday, I was riding up onto a bridge and this kid on a BMX was approaching me, dragging his shoe on his front tire. I could smell the burning rubber from his shoe. His friends were coming, so I pulled over and let them go by. Fortunately, their coaster brakes were working. Nice timing on the comic. In the end, it’s nice to have two brakes in case one fails.
My kids have long since moved up to bikes with brakes, but I think they both still default to planting their heels.
Which is tough, ’cause sneakers are way more dear than brake shoes (pads).
Never had a issue wearing sandals when riding my bikes (including a folding one and a fixie).
By the way, love the expression on Joe’s face in the 4th frame.
You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out,
You put your right foot in,
And you shake it all about,
You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That what it’s all about.
Golden apple… learn something new every day
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss141/TitusTiger/Misc7/goldenapple.gif
URelocation is a U.S.A. based free shipping consultant agency. We match your shipment with reputable moving providers, who can offer you both advice and quotes.
Every other monday strip is free now?